


Reflections

by stuttervoice



Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: Akakuro Week Day 7, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-17
Updated: 2015-04-17
Packaged: 2018-03-23 09:37:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,034
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3763255
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stuttervoice/pseuds/stuttervoice
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When you looked into a reflective surface, someone else was staring back at you. This person was your soulmate. Akakuro soulmate AU</p>
            </blockquote>





	Reflections

The earliest memories Akashi Seijuurou had were of staring at the blue-haired boy in his reflection. He would talk to him constantly, but he never responded. Even so, Akashi talked on. 

The person you saw in your reflection was your soulmate. No one else could see them; they just saw your real appearance. Your soulmate acted just like your own reflection would, if you had one, but there were differences. While the eyes would blink at the same time yours did, sometimes they were angry, or happy, or sad, displaying the emotions of their real owner. You could only puzzle over why they were feeling that way. And their mouths were the same. They would open and close like yours, but sometimes they were scowling, or smiling, or frowning.

Akashi was aware of what he looked like from the pictures his parents took of him and showed him. He had brilliant red hair and ruby eyes, and his skin was pale, similar to his soulmate’s. Speaking of him, his soulmate had blue hair the color of cotton candy from a festival, and blue eyes as vivid as the sky. Akashi had never once even glimpsed anyone like him, but he did want to meet him. 

The boy in his reflection hardly ever changed. He didn’t smile much, frowned even less, and he didn’t scowl at all. It seemed like he was completely blank. Akashi wondered what he appeared to be to this boy. Was he angry a lot? Well, there were a lot of minor annoyances he didn’t like. Did he smile? Akashi smiled a little bit. Was he sad? No, Akashi wasn’t really sad about anything. 

His mother and his father were soulmates, which made Akashi want to find his. Some people never met their soulmate, and Akashi thought that was sad. After seeing their soulmate in their reflection their whole life, it would be sad to never be able to meet them. And the worst was when your soulmate suddenly disappeared from your reflection; that meant that they already died. And so, you were subjected to gaze at your own reflection for the rest of your life, trying to remember what it was like to see a different person there. 

Your soulmate disappearing from the reflective surface could mean a different thing, however. It could mean that you met them. That you stood face-to-face with them and saw them and maybe even talked to them. That you felt that connection. The connection tethering soulmates was so strong that even if you had pledged your love to another for years, that love was quickly crushed by the love you would always feel with your soulmate. Akashi didn’t like those stories. They were sad, too. Because soulmates were halves of the same soul, there was no way for there to ever be a love stronger than theirs. 

Akashi was curious about the blue-haired boy he saw in his mirror every day. When he met him (if he did), would he be swept off his feet? Would he want to hug him and kiss him and never let go? Seven-year old Akashi wrinkled his nose at the thought. 

_No, that’s too gross and gooey.  
_

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

Kuroko Tetsuya was startled one day in the fifth grade when the boy in his reflection was crying. His face was twisted in a grimace, but he still followed Kuroko’s every move, as usual. Kuroko was worried; the redhead had never cried before. Frankly, he didn’t like seeing those pretty red eyes look so dark and lost. 

But, there was no way for Kuroko to reach out to him. No matter how many times he asked his mirror what was wrong, the boy wouldn’t answer. That was just how it was. It made Kuroko upset, but he couldn’t change the results. 

Did Kuroko’s concern come through? Could that boy see that he was worried about him? He hoped so. He wanted to help the other somehow, but it was impossible without meeting him. And he had no idea how to find the boy. All he had to go on was his appearance. 

Kuroko stayed by his mirror that night, watching over the redhead worriedly. It was almost midnight, and he was about to fall asleep from exhaustion. His soulmate had stopped crying, but his eyes were still horribly sad. Something serious must have happened. Kuroko reached out a tired hand to the mirror, poking the redhead’s cheek even though he knew the other couldn’t actually feel it. 

“I hope you know that I’m thinking about you…” Kuroko murmured, arm falling back to his side. The concern never left his face, though he didn’t know that. 

Just before Kuroko fell asleep, he thought he saw his soulmate smile.

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

A few weeks after his mother’s death, Akashi could finally focus again, and he remembered that the blue-haired boy in his reflection had been worried the whole time. Every time Akashi looked in a reflective surface, the other boy would stare back, eyes dim with worry and mouth perpetually in a frown. 

With his focus, he found more appreciation for his soulmate. Akashi didn’t doubt that he had been the one that the blue-haired boy was worrying about. So he smiled for the first time since that first night that he realized the other was worried for him, and he hoped he could see it. He would be fine. Really. 

When Akashi saw a relatively cheery expression on his soulmate’s face later that day, he knew he had gotten through to him. 

The days were easier after that, and Akashi even slept better. He wanted to meet his soulmate even more after that, to thank him for being concerned about him. But, no matter how hard he looked, not even a ghost of blue ever showed up.

 

 

* * *

 

Kuroko was taken by surprise once again when, one day, he looked into his mirror to check on the redhead, and saw that his pretty red eyes were no longer just red; the left one was a cold, golden color. The boy seemed more serious now, and his expression remained unchanging as the days passed by. 

Kuroko was worried about him again, wondering what had happened to his eyes, but this time, the redhead didn’t acknowledge it, and maybe even flat-out ignored it. Kuroko was upset and hurt, but he couldn’t stay angry at the other for long. He just wanted to know what had happened. 

He looked for him a little harder after that, spending his hours after school searching for anyone with red hair and mismatched eyes, but he never saw anyone like that. No matter where he looked, he couldn’t find him, and Kuroko was beginning to lose hope. 

If only he realized that just taking a look at the middle school basketball scene would have led him straight to his soulmate.

 

* * *

 

 

 

As Akashi’s first year as a high school student drew to a close, he lost for the first time in his life. Bitter, he had planned on returning home and taking his frustration out by running laps around the property, but as he stopped by the pond to tie his shoelaces, he noticed what the boy in his reflection was doing. 

His eyes were too wide, as if he had been shocked or startled by something. Feeling concerned for the first time in a while, Akashi stayed by the pond to watch the boy. Slowly, his soulmate’s expression changed to one of terror, and he began to cry for a reason that Akashi could not and would not be able to grasp. Worried now, Akashi stood and looked around as if that would provide answers, but the moon just glared back at him, mocking him. _What, are you remembering your humanity now? Maybe you would have noticed something was wrong if you hadn’t been ignoring him for all this time._

Akashi was even more out of it than he had originally thought, if he was imagining the moon barking angry words at him. 

But, whatever voice the moon was using, it was right. Maybe he would have noticed something. But the blue-haired boy had seemed surprised…

Akashi decided to scrap his run, and he headed back inside. He didn’t answer his startled maid’s questions as he swiftly walked toward his room, practically slamming the door shut behind him. He uncovered his mirror in his room and checked on his soulmate. 

He was still crying, but there was pain intermingled with the sadness now. Akashi watched over him into the late hours of the night, and in his worry never realized that his left eye had shifted back to red. Not that he would have known without someone telling him, of course. 

Akashi ended up falling asleep in front of his mirror.

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

The next few weeks, Kuroko had to learn how to cope with what had happened. During winter break, he, his parents, and his grandmother were supposed to take a short vacation through the countryside, with no particular destination in mind, but… 

A car accident ruined that. Kuroko had been knocked out when the collision happened, but when he came to, he was inside a dark, cramped space, the smell of dirt and blood overriding all of his senses and forcing him to only be able to focus on that. He had been shocked, then terrified, and then he started crying because he was in so much shock. 

Shortly after, when he was saved from the wreckage, he became aware of how much pain he was in. The later verdict would be two broken ribs and a broken leg. But none of those injuries hit as hard as the one and only fact that mattered in this whole mess.

Kuroko had been the only person to survive that horrific crash. 

_Why me? I’m worthless. I don’t deserve to live. Why am I still alive? Why are my parents and grandmother dead? Why? Please, someone, tell me!_

The worst part was that it was a freak accident. The brakes had suddenly stopped working, and the car slid off the road and into a ditch. _It could happen to anyone_. It could happen to anyone, but why did it have to be Kuroko’s family? They were wonderful people! 

Kuroko hadn’t seen a reflective surface for a while. He avoided them, not wanting to see what the _other_ part of his soulmate (his other self, Kuroko decided) thought of him. Maybe he sneered when he saw Kuroko cry. Maybe he didn’t notice anything at all. 

Imagine his surprise when he finally looked into his mirror in his now-empty house, and he saw the redhead staring back at him, visibly worried. The most surprising thing of all was that both of his eyes were red again. Did that mean that he was back to normal? He was worried, and he continued to be as the days went by. That led Kuroko to the conclusion that the redhead was, in fact, worried about the blue-haired boy. 

His heart warmed, and the sudden warmth chased away the dark clouds that had been clinging there for weeks. 

Kuroko smiled into the mirror like the redhead had done for him years ago, reassuring him that he was fine. 

_Can we meet, someday?_  

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

At the age of twenty, Akashi was drowning his emotions in coffee. Halfway through university and more than ready to be done with it, he was like most other students. One would think the almighty Akashi Seijuurou did not dread work, but he did. Nowadays, anyway. 

After all, he was twenty years into his life, and he had not met his soulmate yet. 

Would another twenty years pass before he met that (as a child, very cute, but as a man, not clearly standing out, but in Akashi’s opinion, very attractive when seen) person that showed up in his reflection? He hoped to the skies that wasn’t the case. He didn’t want to wait that long. He still wanted to know what had made the normally monotonous boy lose control of his emotions a few years ago. 

Akashi sighed, signaling for another cup of coffee, but the barista scoffed. “No more coffee for you,” Midorima reprimanded. Akashi glared at his old friend, but the green-haired man just shook his head. “You’ve already had four cups, nanodayo! You don’t need more.” 

Midorima was working part-time at the café. Akashi thought he would be busy enough since he was studying to be a doctor, but when Akashi asked him about it, Midorima had scowled and said that his friend, Takao, had roped him into it, promising the owner of this place that Midorima would work for him. And the green-haired man never broke his promises, apparently. 

Akashi thought the reasoning was bad, but well, he wasn’t going to point that out to Midorima now. 

In the present, Akashi let out a sigh of long suffering. Maybe Midorima was right (though he would never admit that out loud). As Akashi left his tip on his table and got up to leave, Midorima called after him, “Don’t forget to actually get a life this time, Akashi!” 

Midorima’s answer was a thumbs-down by Akashi—a gesture that was considered to be very rude. Already used to Akashi throwing those out if he was displeased with someone (especially of late), Midorima remained unaffected, even as the other customers let out scandalous gasps. 

Akashi walked down the street, not really knowing where he was going this time. He contemplated Midorima’s words—similar ones had been said to him before. Midorima was the type of person who said to forget your soulmate and grab happiness by yourself. You didn’t need to meet your soulmate to be happy, was his philosophy. 

But Akashi was not like him. Akashi was someone who had fallen in love with the person in his reflection because of the worried looks he would give Akashi when he was feeling down, or the smiles he granted when he saw that Akashi was happy about something. Without knowing him, and maybe even without the whole ‘soulmates’ thing mattering, Akashi had fallen in love with the blue-haired boy. 

So, no. Akashi was not going to go out and try to find his happiness with someone else. Yes, your happiness could be grasped by yourself and with someone that was not your soulmate, but Akashi was determined to find his soulmate because he was what made him happy. 

Akashi walked past a large bookstore with clear, reflective glass windows, and he was well-aware of the blue-haired man walking in the same rhythm as him, as usual. Not feeling up to looking directly at him, Akashi sighed and turned his head away. 

What he didn’t see was that his ‘reflection’ froze and stared wide-eyed at Akashi. 

By the time Akashi had given in and glanced at his ‘reflection,’ the person on the other side had caught up but was still gazing at him with that wide-eyed surprise. Akashi frowned when he saw that he was surprised, and he wondered what he was surprised about. Only when the blue-haired man blinked and Akashi was sure he himself had not, did he stop and question small details that had slipped unnoticed by him initially. 

In the glass reflective surface, he could very vaguely make out red, along with the blue, like there were two reflections. The blue-haired man’s rhythm was no longer perfectly matching Akashi’s. And when Akashi stopped in his tracks, his other half had walked a step further before stopping. They stared at each other in disbelief through the glass. 

All of the passerby were absolutely confused as to why a streak of blue was running in a bookstore, right alongside a streak of red. 

When they arrived at the glass doors, they came to a silent agreement, and Akashi moved a few steps backward as his soulmate hesitantly cracked the door open. He did it slowly, afraid of this moment shattering. Akashi just watched him, and because of how much caffeine he had drank that morning and what was currently happening, he could not stop shaking. 

The blue-haired man stepped out of the store and right in front of Akashi. 

_Are we really meeting?_

Akashi couldn’t believe it. Not that long ago, he was wondering if he would ever meet his soulmate. And now here he was, standing right in front of him, and he looked so much better in the flesh (not that there was anything wrong with his reflection). 

“You’re…” 

“You…”

Unsure of what else to do, Akashi slowly held a hand out to the other. The latter slowly raised his own hand, pressing his palm against Akashi’s. They didn’t shake hands, just gripped each other’s fingers as if they were their lifelines, but it confirmed what they had been hoping for. 

This was one-hundred percent real. 

“Akashi Seijuurou,” Akashi breathed out, suddenly short of it. This was real. He was really meeting his soulmate. He didn’t know what to do. Suddenly, he remembered himself as a seven-year old, thinking that hugging and kissing and never letting his soulmate go would be too gross and gooey. 

It definitely didn’t seem that way to his twenty-year old self. 

“Kuroko Tetsuya.” His soulmate, Kuroko Tetsuya, as he now knew, looked equally as breathless and wonderstruck. His beautiful blue eyes were shining, and his lip was trembling. “I was starting to think… we would never meet…”

Akashi gulped. Their hands were still intertwined, and people were probably starting to think they had gone mad. “I was beginning to think so too,” he whispered. Gathering all his courage (where was it when he needed it?), he hesitantly began, “Then… may I… take…” The rest of the words stuck in Akashi’s throat, but Kuroko teared up and nodded. 

Acting on instinct, one that must have connected them over many lifetimes, Akashi opened his arms as Kuroko ran forward, hugging him tightly. Akashi wrapped his arms around Kuroko, breathing out a sigh he didn’t realize he was holding back. 

For the first time, Akashi Seijuurou saw his reflection. 

And he had to say, he rather liked it, as long as it always had its blue other half in its arms.

**Author's Note:**

> This is a soulmate AU I came up with a while ago. I’m pretty sure I came up with the concept, anyway, but I don’t know what inspired it. I think I was thinking about another soulmate AU, then one thought led to another, and suddenly I had this picture in my head of Akashi and Kuroko walking side by side inside and outside a bookstore, at first not realizing that their soulmate was just outside/inside. 
> 
> Uh let’s see… I guess I don’t really have any notes? Ah, in case anyone doesn’t know, in Japan, giving someone a thumbs-down is basically equivalent to “fuck you.” Yeah. Midorima, you probably deserve that. Don’t be mean to Sei. 
> 
> (/whispers I’m biased but I really like the idea of this AU)


End file.
